A CHUBBY barman planning a charity parachute jump has been told he will plummet like a stone, or 22 stone, to be precise, if he does not lose weight.

Jump organisers told Martin Shotton that a main parachute, capable of holding an army tank, would easily carry his bulky frame.

But he was warned that the reserve chute, used for slimmer skydivers, might buckle and send him plummeting to earth.

Mr Shotton, 29, a barman at the Queens Head pub, in Chester-le-Street, County Durham, is busy shedding the pounds for his leap into the unknown, planned for next year.

He said: "I have always been a big lad and I wanted to lose weight for health reasons. When I told the parachuting firm I wanted to do a jump they said I would have to lose two or three stone because, at 22 stone, I might be too heavy for the reserve chute.

"The main chute is used to parachute tanks into war zones so I think it might just hold me. But if that fails, and the reserve one opens, it might struggle with me."

Mr Shotton has lost a stone since he joined Weightwatchers three weeks ago, so he is on target to reach his parachute-friendly weight early in the new year.

His sponsored slim will raise cash to help set up a charity to provide speech therapy for stroke sufferers.

His charity drive, which will culminate in the jump, was inspired by pub regular Wayne Pattirson, who is recovering from a stroke.

Mr Shotton said: "I have done bungee jumps before, so it shouldn't be that scary. Mind you, the bungee jump wasn't from 24,000ft."